Why a Scar?
by NicoDiAngeloLover7
Summary: Harry's been abandoned by his best mate,Ronald Weasley, what if Hermione had done the same. With neither of them believing him he never entered his name into the tournament. Is Blaise Zabini a blessing or curse to Harry's life? Blaise wants to know why Harry appears to hate his scar, something he has never admitted to any person. What makes this Slytherin different from the rest?
1. Chapter 1

Harry was out on Hogwarts grounds by the lake as he sighed with anger. Fingers trailed the strands of grass while he gazed dejectedly at the sky. His friends had abandoned him when he needed them most; it was his third year all over again like the argument over the Firebolt, Crookshanks and Scabbers. Ron's jealously had finally hit its mark as he turned to an outcast of the Gryffindor House. Even his most trusted, Hermione, turned her nose at his words. She didn't neglect him as the fellow Weasley had; but it hurt all the same. Though she wouldn't let his death be on her conscious, hence the spells the bookworm had been showing him.

The shock all came down to Professor Severus Snape. Never was there a day Harry considered going to the Potions Master and thanking him. Though the fellow Gryffindors thought he was seeking fame, his tutor knew differently. At first the boy that Snape assigned to Potter was wary, always on guard, a true Slytherin. He was silent at first with no need for idle chatter. The change had resulted because of the Triwizard Champion. The partnership happened before the champion's announcement in the Great Hall. Yet the young Slytherin was the only one to see his inner-turmoil. It didn't take a Ravenclaw to know that the Gryffindor hadn't done this willingly; especially when the fourteen year old tried to slump further in his seat, wanting to hide within the castle walls and shadows.

Blaise Zabini could almost feel sympathy for his potions partner. He blended in with the forestry as he studied Harry glaring at the sky. He wasn't the only one who noticed that the Boy-Who-Lived never ate in the Great Hall anymore. The answers were delivered in an abandoned classroom on the sixth floor at the time. The Gryffindor had shadows under his eyes as he outburst what the fourth years had done to the boy. Isolated from his peers and even cursed if he wasn't careful. Blaise's lips twitched in humor as Harry made an almost perfect Shrinking Solution. Potter had never needed a tutor; his nerves were struck down by the Professor himself. The downgrading created a lack of confidence in a crowd for the remaining Potter heir.

Blaise's brown eyes hardened when he got the full story of Harry's abandonment from the Lions by the lake. Weren't houses supposed to stick together no matter the problem? His answer had been no if the story of his first year was anything to go by, shunned by every member of his house because of loss of points except his fellow three Gryffindors. It was no shock to them to discover they had grown closer by their problems. The half-Italian got repeatedly lectured by the blond Malfoy. If the Slytherin had never befriended the youngest Seeker, he may have taken a "Potter Stinks, Cedric Rules" badge. The young Zabini used to ask why Harry was so distrustful of Slytherin. Never receiving an answer except, "You're different." Blaise had never been more confused up until his confrontation with the Malfoy heir, as it was more of a Slytherin response than Gryffindor. Though Harry was being more open about most of his life than even his closest friends, Blaise could tell he was being tight lipped about something.

Bringing the half-Italian out of his musing to where he had been watching Harry for over thirty minutes unaware. Straying out into the sun by the lake did he hesitantly lay back to replica the emerald-eyed boy's current position. Their skin almost touching before Blaise brought Harry's anger down a notch or three. The surprise in his bright, green orbs was almost laughable as the Slytherin dragged the boy's head in his lap.

"You were brooding."

"Was not," Harry muttered as he relaxed upon feeling Blaise's fingers threading his hair. He missed these moments were the olive-toned man could calm him so easily. Though Harry never said it in words, his actions showed he despised what the Lions did to him. The answers behind why wouldn't be revealed to the young Slytherin till their next conversation.

"Harry," Blaise muttered in the boy's raven-black hair.

"Mmm," the Gryffindor turned his head slightly to look at his fellow rival.

"Why do you hate your scar?" Was the innocent question.

Harry immediately stiffened at the words. This was not how he expected his free afternoon to go after the second task. Another thing that brought the two boys together had been that very task. Not only Hermione had been taken but the half-Italian had been as well. Harry wasn't sure what prompted him to tell Blaise; perhaps it was how he caressed the lightning bolt with his forefinger with upmost affection.

"The scar isn't just about being identified as the Boy-Who-Lived. It's more than that," Harry began as he sat up from Blaise's lap and rested on his knees across from him.

Harry's statement rang in Blaise's eyes. He always knew that his scar was the symbol of his survival from the killing curse. It displayed who he was as did the Malfoy's traditional hair or his mother's so called… relationships. He knew for one this wasn't a happy tale, his life was example of that. Blaise knew his scar didn't identify him as a person, like his own mother didn't. Blaise never knew how much his opinion rang true.

"They all think I should be famous for something I never did." Harry's voice grew soft. "I never did anything; my mother's protection is what saved me from the Killing Curse. I still remember the green flash."

Blaise's eyes widened in disbelief, he would never had believed the boy's last words if it didn't come directly from his lips. A memory was brought to surface of Malfoy's gloating of last year that Potter had fainted on the Hogwarts Express. The realization hit the Slytherin hard behind the reason of the particular fainting. After all he had been passing their compartment at the time when the Gryffindor had mentioned he heard screaming. It made the young Zabini glad his family had always been neutral in the war.

Unwillingly did Blaise's voice soften, "That's what you saw with the Dementors, wasn't it?"

The fourth-year Gryffindor gave a brief nod. "I heard her pleading and scream after my dad attempted to hold Voldemort off."

Blaise didn't even flinch or protest at the use of the Dark Lord's name, something that pleased Harry. Hermione and Ron had the opposite effect and would always argue not to say his name. Even though Hermione always said, "Fear of a name, increase the fear of the thing itself."

"I don't want to be like him," Harry whispered.

Blaise's resolve broke at the fourteen year old's words. He brought the raven-haired boy to his side as Harry elaborated.

"He's the reason I spoke Parseltongue in second year and can sometimes see into his mind. There's a reason why I was almost sorted into Slytherin."

"Harry, you're nothing like the Dark Lord." Harry was about to protest before Blaise interrupted him. "You never murdered innocent lives or your parents for that matter. Being a Slytherin doesn't make you dark. Every house has its own qualities though we tend to get the bad reputation for it. Parseltongue isn't a dark art, it's a gift passed down from Salazar Slytherin. It's only because of Voldemort that a gift was known as a Dark Art."

Harry smiled, "Who are you and what have you done with Blaise Zabini?"

Blaise gave a small smile. "Does the scar give you any pain?" The Slytherin's tone radiated curiosity.

Harry slowly nodded his head best he could as he was still plastered to the Slytherin's side. "Only when he's close by or feeling any strong emotion, I hate the connection. It's the reason I have no family."

Blaise couldn't blame the Slytherin in Gryffindor clothing for his current opinion, though the comment about his family caught him off guard. Didn't Harry live with his mother's relatives and were they so bad that he never spoke of them?

Harry couldn't take back what he said, there was a reason he never spoke about the Dursley's. Yet it appeared that Blaise wanted to know, but would never push for answers to satisfy their curiosity. The Slytherin was truly different from Malfoy's group. "I hate the fame that came with merely existing. I never wanted to be center of attention like most claim. I just want to be normal, just for one year. Merlin, more like I want to be normal for just one day, is that too much to ask," Harry muttered at the end of his rant.

To say Blaise was surprised by Harry's words would be an understatement. His words explained so much about who the "Boy-Who-Lived" really was as a person and not an icon. Showing him how unjustified his Head of House was to the young boy. That the Professor was positive Harry radiated in his unclaimed fame and arrogant as the most traditional Gryffindors that he had taught. The young Potter was a Gryffindor, yet his qualities were showing his inner Slytherin. If his witty remarks made to Draco were any to show and his display of resourcefulness in the first task and the rumors from the past three years.

Harry had assumed their original position from the beginning of their meeting with his head back into Blaise's lap with his fingers resuming its activity after he shifted from his arms. It was as if he wanted to be caught in such a public place.

"You never answered my earlier question about why you didn't want to be in Slytherin. We're not all dark wizards." Blaise looked down at the young Seeker.

Harry blew air at Blaise who mock glared at the boy in question. "I know that now. But at the time I was told every dark wizard had been in Slytherin since I had been raised by muggles and recently met Malfoy in Diagon Alley."

Blaise chuckled, which Harry felt, "Not the best example of our house, I assure you."

"I imagine not," Harry grinned up at Blaise.


	2. Friendship Over?

AN: I apologized that this is a little short. I had put this on AO3 for a while and forgot to update it here as well. Hope you enjoy it.

All rights go to their respectful owners

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

* * *

Harry had just finished the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament as he narrowly escaped death once more at Lord Voldemort's hand. Only one word escaped his lips as he used the portkey back to Hogwarts as the near hysterical boy cried that Voldemort was back, "Blaise." His body still burned with the aftereffects of agony from experiencing the Cruciatus Curse by the Dark Lord himself. It had been like scalding knives had pierced every inch of him as he let out a piercing scream with all awareness lost while in the graveyard. Exhaustion was wearing thin on the Hogwarts champion as his body momentarily jerked every so often and never realizing he lost feeling in his legs until he was caught in the arms of Blaise Zabini. No surprise that the young Zabini felt the slight jerks that everyone else missed. Blaise didn't miss the calculating glint in the headmaster's blue orbs as his arms wrapped around the Gryffindor's waist. The Slytherin received glares from the youngest Weasley boy as he helped the raven-haired boy to where the Potions Master was standing in the shadows. The Slytherin didn't miss the suspicious look in the Head of Slytherin's eyes as he whispered the word potions. With a flair of his cloak were they off towards the dungeon under a disillusionment charm. Harry didn't make a sound as he was led towards Professor Snape's office.

"He's suffered under the Cruciatus Curse; I noticed when his leg collapsed underneath him. His body has been jerking occasionally," Blaise whispered to his Head of House. The Potions Master questioned his student no further as he grasped a few vials out of his personal stores.

"Potter needs to take these potions, Blood-Replenishing and my own Restoration Potion. It will ease the effects of the unforgivable that he's suffered under. He needs to also apply this, it's Murtlap Essence. I have a Calming Draught and Dreamless Sleep Potion if he needs it," Snape instructed towards the Zabini heir. "I need an explanation why Potter appears to have suffered under the Cruciatus Curse."

Blaise had just convinced the Gryffindor to take the Blood-Replenishing potion before dapping Murtlap Essence on the knife wound Peter Pettigrew gave the boy. "He said he saw the rise of the Dark Lord. It appears they have used a Blood-Binding Ritual," Blaise gestured to the wound on Harry's forearm.

Severus Snape didn't deny Blaise's words as he had felt the burning of the Dark Mark. He watched as a white scar formed as the only evidence of the Blood Ritual. It was a surprise to see his student who tended to avoid all his peers, treat Dumbledore's golden boy with utmost affection. Watching as Blaise made sure to grasp the arm of the Potter not too tightly before giving him the Restoration Potion to battle the effects of the curse that remained. It appeared that the raven-haired Gryffindor had been exposed to the curse a prolonged time if his actions were anything to go by. Harry relaxed against Blaise after the potion had been administered as he had been helping him to stay upright on his feet. The Zabini heir handed Harry the remaining two vials as he downed the Calming Draught and pocketed the second in his torn robes. The Potions professor did a quick analysis spell over the Potter boy before dismissing them both from his office. Harry muttered an almost silent thank you before rushing after Blaise. Naturally he missed the shocked look on the professor. Severus was beginning to realize he was seeing more Lily than he did James in their son.

It was in the two boys' usual spot at the lake did they talk about its recent events as Ron refused to speak with him after seeing the Slytherin catch his best friend before he could crack open his head. Hermione had finally come around and politely spoke with the young Zabini. As the young Granger was a muggleborn she knew nothing about his mother which was the way the Slytherin wanted it. Why have another student be prejudice against him other than the fact he was a Slytherin, not if he could help it. Though he was never fond of mudbloods, he saw what the friendship meant to the young Potter. Though he made sure to be kept aware what he said around the two Gryffindors as a precaution for if something was to slip out unintentionally and offend the two fourth-years. Even though he made sure not to let something slip, he informed both of them not to be insulted if he accidentally called her a mudblood as it was unintentional. Blaise could see Harry's green orbs narrow at him as he studied his words as if calculating what he said was the truth or not. The raven-haired boy relaxed once Blaise reminded him he was no Draco or his goons that he kept for protection.

"The Ministry of Magic is starting to accuse me of making lies when the Minister gave me the winnings for the tournament when I told him that Voldemort's back," Harry said softly.

"Not many are going to be accepting of his return, Harry. There was a lot of fear from the first war and not many are keen to believe that those times are returning. Better to believe that their problems don't exist; I'd be careful what you say around them. They can be very spiteful against you and your friends," Blaise cautioned the two Gryffindors though it was aimed towards the Boy-Who-Lived mostly.

"You never really told me what happened at the graveyard," Blaise whispered after Hermione had left back towards the common room.

All Harry had informed Blaise since he took him to Snape's office was that the Triwizard Cup had been a portkey that Professor Moody bewitched, though his real alias was Barty Crouch Jr. A man who had been sentenced to Azkaban, yet the headmaster had caught him attempting to get in the Potions Master's personal stores for more Polyjuice Potion, had casted Incarcerous, a spell to bind an enemy with ropes. It was then that Veritaserum was administered before the Minister could get to him as he suffered the Dementor's Kiss. Blaise knew the story about Peter Pettigrew and the betrayal that led to his parents' death with the innocence of Sirius Black. At first the Slytherin had doubted his words about the mass murderer until he was shown some of the letters his godfather had wrote and the fact that Harry was willing to take Veritaserum to prove it. After the story he saw how the pieces fit, almost everyone had heard about the Marauders since his mother had attended Hogwarts at the time. Stories how the Black's son Sirius was disowned for being sorted into the house of Gryffindor and eventually living with his best mate, Harry's father. It was a tale that had never been heard by the young Gryffindor beside him.

"You already know about the Blood ritual which you explained to me earlier. But the blood he used from me was taken by force, used a bone of Voldemort's father, and flesh of a servant. Pettigrew cut off his hand for his cause which Voldemort eventually healed. He killed Cedric right before the ritual; I saw it with my own eyes. In the past he had never been able to touch me due to my mother's sacrifice, by touching my scar he took several drops of blood from me by force. Voldemort then made me duel him and you were right I had suffered under the Cruciatus Curse. I don't know for how long as I could only feel pain, but he did the curse twice. Before that he had summoned his Death Eaters, I managed to get back to Cedric's body before summoning the cup," Harry voice held a monotone before it broke when he mentioned the Hufflepuff that died before him and yet asked the raven-haired boy to bring his body back to his father.

No matter how much convincing Hermione tried, Ron still wouldn't come around speak to his friend since their first year. That if Harry wanted to be friends with a slimy snake then he wanted nothing to do with the boy. Harry didn't take the news very well when Hermione finally got the nerve to tell him outside the common room. Harry had been currently in his sanctuary with Blaise at the lake, a spot that was firmly reserved for the two of them. They had been caught there once before, after which the fellows students got used to the sight of seeing them together. It originally created an up rise that the golden boy of Gryffindor was associating with a Slytherin. The fire dead down after a few days after seeing them almost combined at the hip.

Blaise had never liked the young Weasley brother to begin with and the spite continued as he listened to the Gryffindor girl. Ron Weasley had appeared too greedy about Harry's wealth despite that Harry was uncomfortable with all the attention. The fame was an attribute that the Weasley boy appeared to lust after. It didn't settle right with him about his attitude towards the young Seeker. An opinion that followed with Ron's twin brothers which Blaise had been greatly amused by. It came no surprise to hear that the raven-haired boy coerced the twins to take the money for their joke shop. Relief came for the Slytherin when Hermione announced that she refused to speak to the young Weasley after his comment that if Harry decided to hang around Slytherin, might as well be a junior Death Eater like his friend. Not only did it draw the line for Hermione, but Harry as well with Blaise at his side. The only reason he didn't have the heart to curse him as he would sink into the accusation of Ron believing he was right.


End file.
